Funny you should ask this but I’m currently rereading Before I get old, the story of The Who by Dave Marsh. I haven’t read it in 15 years or so but it was a pretty good read if I remember correctly.
I also have read Papa John and California Dreamin’ by John and Michelle Phillips respectively. They should be read together to get both sides of the story.
H.
I would have liked Dave Marsh’s book a lot better if he hadn’t given us his critical opinion of each and every song The Who ever recorded. Hey, Dave, I don’t care!
Thanks for all the tips, much appreciated. I’m intrigued by the punk era, comparing the US and UK scenes should be a bit of fun. English culture surrouding the rise of The Sex Pistols and The Clash is something I’ve always been curious about.
Check out “England’s Dreaming” by Jon Savage–it’s a detailed, informative book on that era, with lots of great stories.
The best book (I think) on Jimi Hendrix was John McDermott and Eddie Kramer’s “Setting the Record Straight”. Excellent book.
I enjoyed a book called “The Beatles; Lennon and Me” which was written by a boyhood friend of John’s named Pete Shotton (with Nicholas Schaffner).
There are LOTS of Rolling Stones bios out there. I have about 20 I guess. My favorite is one called “The First Twenty Years” by David Dalton which of course was written 20 years ago! Great Sunday afternoon rainy book.
Though technically he’s not a band*, Jimmy Buffett’s autobiography “A Pirate Looks at 50” was very good.
Unless you count the Coral Reefer Band who he peforms with occasionally. But they’re not a big part of the book.
Picked up “England’s Dreaming” tonight, yawndave (new and improved “Revised Edition”!). The nasty cover shot of a snotty Sid Vicious and the cool intro about the UK atmosphere forced open my wallet. Thanks for the heads up!